GGH provide 7 properties across Warrington to Children’s Services (Leaving Care Team) for young people aged 16-18 leaving local authority care. The service can only be accessed through WBC leaving care team, who put forward young people for the tenancies when they feel they are ready.
Children’s Services are the tenants and pay the rents, etc. and young people live in the properties subject to various conditions, one condition being that the young person must work with GGH Young Persons Support For All worker – Angela Laff, Angela works with care leavers to offer help on managing their tenancy, accessing college, employment and basically their full progression from 16-18.
If the young person is successful and progress, the end result will be they can either go on band A CHOOSEaHOME or take over that tenancy staying where they are once they reach 18 and can prove that they can manage a tenancy.
What if I am not successful?
If the young person is not ready to manage a tenancy of their own by the time they are 18 they will go through the normal procedure of going through homeless or finding other suitable accommodation i.e. supported lodgings, etc.
The majority of young people aged 16-18 fail in their tenancy because of:
The Local Authority (social services, homeless, etc.) equally have a duty of care towards them which includes providing housing, so normally they would leave care and go through homeless. For more details on Homlessness click here.